Wounded in my Eyes
by 32-bit Mandarin Orange
Summary: After a long trip to America, Misty comes back home to find everything has changed, and that her friends hold a dark secret. When Misty tries to uncover it, she finds herself caught in a web of lies and deception.
1. Severed

Wounded in my Eyes, chapter one.  
  
Well, this is a sidetrack from Delia's Reminiscence, because I am at a thinking stage right now..but, here it is, so enjoy it! I was bored one evening at 2 am or something like that.  
  
~Misty's POV  
  
"Will all the members of flight 105 please report to the gate, I repeat, will the members of  
  
flight 106 please report the gate.."  
  
I turn to those who I had spent the last four years with and tearfully bid them goodbye.  
  
"Goodbye, Cindy, goodbye, Aurora, Joshua..." When my eyes meet with those of the  
  
tall, blue-eyed man, he reaches over to embrace me. I hug him for a moment or two, then  
  
pull away.  
  
"I'm gonna be late," I mutter, and turn away before I could see the look on his face. I  
  
hope.I hope this is the last time I ever see him. The scene feels so familiar that I need to  
  
blink back a couple of tears.  
  
I know that sounds harsh, but I have so many twisted emotions running through my head,  
  
so many severed dreams, that I tried to put it out of my heart.  
  
Who have I become?, I wonder.  
  
As the ground shrank smaller and smaller and the clouds rushed in at me, I picture the  
  
last time I was on a plane, bound for America. I was only fourteen at the time, my eyes bright eyed towards life, eager, yet hurting at the same time.  
  
I was outraged that they could do this to me. My sisters decided that I no longer was  
  
needed at the Cerulean gym, so when they saw an exclusive exchange program with  
  
American water Pokemon trainers, they jumped at the chance to get rid of me.  
  
I huddled at the window, frightened, confused, and most of all, lovesick.  
  
Yes, lovesick.  
  
I'm sure all of you know. The one who I had traveled with, who I spent most of my time  
  
arguing with. The one who I had saved from the roaring ocean during the battle of the  
  
three great birds.  
  
When we were at the airport, and I was about to board the plane, I heard him say  
  
something to me.  
  
Blushing, staring down at his feet, holding out a small box.  
  
"For you," he said. I smiled and accepted the gift, and turned to the plane with my eyes  
  
set ahead.  
  
"Misty! Misty!" Yelled Brock, "He has something to tell you!"  
  
"I'll be late!" I exclaimed. "Bye, guys, write me it in a letter, 'kay?"  
  
So he never did tell me how he felt.  
  
The letters grew less and less frequent over the years, and I wondered what had become  
  
of our little romance...but soon I forgot about it, and began to build a life of my own.  
  
  
  
There's no where I belong. I don't belong with Joshua. It was wrong, all the way from the  
  
beginning. I just went with the flow, tried to force myself into something, anything, to  
  
take my mind off of that other place.  
  
As the plane touches the Japanese soil, a trace of anticipation springs up. So long, I have  
  
ran so far away from this place. I ran away from him. And now, I've done it twice. So  
  
many dreams I have had that were unlived. This is why I must get out of America.  
  
As I step onto the platform, I glance around. Not a familiar face. My sisters had promised  
  
me that they would meet me, I think sullenly. How come they never keep their promises?  
  
Then, suddenly, a group of bubbly, air-headed girls run up to me.  
  
"Like, Misty?" one of them asks in her valley girl drawl. I can scarcely believe it. This is  
  
my sister, Lily?  
  
"Like, wow, you've like really grown up!" Screams another one, and before I know it, I  
  
am surrounded by my sisters, hugging me, demanding to know every detail of America.  
  
"I'm a little tired.." I hear myself saying, "can I tell you tomorrow?"  
  
"Like, sure!" squeals Daisy, "Like, you can!" I can't believe that there are the same  
  
sisters that shipped me off so many years ago, that are now thrilled to see me.  
  
And so we make our way home, their chatter all blending together and my mind  
  
somewhere else..  
  
What ever did become of him? I wonder as I idly pace around the empty gym. Is he  
  
famous? Is he nothing? I haven't anything about him in so long..  
  
I wonder if he would remember me. Of course he would, we traveled together for years!  
  
But still, this doubt creeps into my mind that he would see me and come up with a blank.  
  
I decide that very second that I will begin my search for him.  
  
"Have any of you heard of an Ash Ketchum?" I ask as I pace around the town, my mood  
  
considerably sunny since I had first arrived.  
  
People meet my eye for a fraction of a second, then look away.  
  
"Ketchum..why would you want to talk to HIM?"  
  
Well, tell me whatcha think, and I will write more if I see any interest! (say..ten reviews or so?)  
  
X~Aurora chan 


	2. Undone

One note, since I don't know how to do html in documents (so sue me, I'm stupid) then I'm gonna do italicized words in asterisks, kay?  
  
I found it. I manage to dig the information out of a reluctant passerby, a poor soul who probably wants nothing to do with the name "Ketchum"  
  
"Yeah, I used to know him," he says, and slips me the address furtively.  
  
=============================*================================  
  
So here I am, standing on his front stoop. The door hangs on the hinges, looking helpless, somehow. The house is small, ill-kept. All around shrubs fringe the outside. They might have looked good at one time, but it was evident that no one had touched them in years.  
  
I can't do this. I can't suddenly show up on the doorstep of a friend I haven't seen in years, expecting hospitality and kindness. What kind of person was this Ketchum, this man whose name was held in dishonor? And *was* he still a friend?  
  
Come on, I scold myself. This is ridiculous. I am standing with my hand positioned against the doorbell, trying to muster up the courage to ring it. If he ever saw me looking so stupid, he would laugh in my face.  
  
The thought of this makes me slap my hand against the doorbell, hard.  
  
Silence.  
  
Then, footsteps padding towards the door. A lump rises in my throat, thickens till I can barely swallow.  
  
In front of me stands a tall, dark-haired man. The sight of him takes my breath away. For a moment, his eyes regard me coldly. I search there for the slightest glimmer of recognition, and I see only a lost, scared look in the eyes of this man. He almost looks like a boy. Ash.  
  
It is so unexpected that I look away. "Ash Ketchum," I blurt out, "It's me, Misty. Don't you remember?"  
  
His mouth opens then closes again, and he looks like a fish gasping for air. "*Misty*???"  
  
I nod ever so slightly.  
  
I can tell from his manner that he doesn't know quite what to do or say. He starts to step foreword, then stops. Opens his mouth again, but no words come out.  
  
"How are you?" I ask finally, unable to take the awkward silence bearing down on both of us.  
  
"I'm fine," he says stiffly.  
  
Say something, Ash! Screams a voice in my head. His face is so set that I think it is made of stone. *Aren't you the least bit happy to see me??* I wonder, but I say nothing.  
  
"Listen, Misty, I think it would be better if we didn't see one another anymore. We both have moved on in our lives, and it's best to put the past behind us."  
  
I blink. This comment is so abrupt, so out of the blue that I have to make sure I heard what I think I did. "What?"  
  
"You heard me. It's time to move on." And then the door shuts in my face. I feel as if I've been slapped, and nearly stumble backwards.  
  
I stand there, struggling against the torrent of tears that I feel behind my eyes. I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry...  
  
In a matter of seconds rage comes boiling up, so hot I don't know what direction is up, along with the burning acrid tears.  
  
"Ash Ketchum!" I scream. My voice sounds as angry as it was the last time I fought with him when I was twelve.  
  
"You talk to me! Stop acting like a jerk and tell me why you're acting like this!!" I'm pounding on the door like a wild animal, nothing stopping my rage.  
  
I stop and look at my hands. The knuckles are split open, and blood pours between my fingers.  
  
I drop my hands and creep around the back of the house. The yard is just as wild and random as the front of the house. I'm hoping for something, a back entrance maybe?  
  
Something inside me is shaking so violently, and it won't stop. Why did he turn me away so suddenly? How did the mere sight of me bring such a burning hatred to his eyes, such that he would shut the door on me?  
  
I'm wading through the tall stalks of grass, feeling lost. My heart is torn into a million pieces all scattered around the yard. *Ash* tore my heart into a million pieces. There was that hope, that budding hope when I had left Joshua, that I could return and every thing will be fine, like it was before.  
  
I am such a fool.  
  
I'm so lost in my own thoughts that I don't notice the little stone in front of me.  
  
Before I know it, I'm stumbling to the ground. The dirt scrapes up my hands and I overturn them to see how much damage was done.  
  
Out of the corner of my eyes, something catches my gaze.  
  
The stone I'd tripped over. It has writing on it.  
  
Edging closer, I squint to read it.  
  
"Rest In Peace, Togapi..the beloved Pokemon of Misty Kasumi Waterflower, died on May 12, 2000."  
  
Cold shock washes over me, and suddenly the air is sucked out of me.  
  
The last thing I remember is the cold rock hitting my head.  
  
Well, the second chapter at my first attempt to do angst! Please review! I'm a review freak and if you read it, review it!!!! ^____^ *gets all happy thinking about reviews* thanks to all who read it! The third chapter should be coming out soon depending on how many review I get! If I get a lot, I'll make sure to blow off my homework to write it!  
  
x~Aurora chan 


	3. The Calm Before The Storm

I'm opening my eyes. Everything is swerving in, out, until finally it comes into focus. "Misty! Like, you're awake!" My sister's voice seems piercingly loud as the whole group of them closes in on me. Then I see another person, someone who is not a Sensational Sister of Cerulean City.  
  
"Brock?!" Then my eyes are open totally wide, and I am staring at a tall, muscular, tan human.  
  
I leap up to hug him, but the minute my head straightens, stars dance in front of my eyes and I am collapsing back onto the blankets, exhausted.  
  
"Don't, like, try to get up!" Shrieks Daisy, "You'll, like, die!"  
  
"You have a nasty bump on your head," translates Brock. "You got it on a stone when you passed out. If you get up, you'll faint again."  
  
I don't respond, silently taking in my surroundings. The breeze faintly ruffles the white curtains in my room. Nothing has changed in my room since I left. I see the childish things I had saved all propped up on my dresser, the things I left as a message to myself when I returned. This girl seemed totally foreign to me. The faintest trace of uneasiness springs up. I feel like I've been severed from my old self, yet the only person the people here know is her. And now, they expect me to return to her.  
  
"My Togepi.." I whisper.  
  
"Like, Brockie!" chirps my oldest sister, Daisy. "Maybe we should give our little baby sister some peace and go have some fun!" She winks at him and begins to drag him out of the room, and I see him get that perverted expression on his face. Maybe not everything has changed, after all.  
  
"I want to talk to Misty," he says, and my sisters all scowl at him.  
  
"Like, you're already replacing US with HER!" They whine as they slink out of the room.  
  
As the door shuts firmly behind us, he turns to face me. I'm waiting for him to say the first word, testing him, eyeing him down. He has to be the one to break down the wall.  
  
"I'm sorry," he says finally, all the playfulness gone from his voice. "It's complicated...I can't explain to you right now what happened. But just know that I'm sorry."  
  
I say nothing. What is there to say? Oh, that's all right, Brock, while you're at it, give some more of my Pokemon to Ash so he can kill the rest of them. I don't mind.  
  
"I don't blame you for being pissed," he is saying, "I would be more than that. But.." he runs out of words and stares at me helplessly, and my anger disappears. His pained expression is enough for my rage to melt.  
  
Suddenly, my eyes are flooding over. "I can't belive..my Togepi...how could this have happened?" The pain is nearly too much for me to bear, and as the sobs wrench out of my body, I am aware of feeling weak. This is the second time since I've been back that I've cried in my despair and anger.  
  
Suddenly, I feel his arms going around me, and I'm rocking back and forth, sobbing into his chest and nothing else matters anymore.  
  
"I was going to Ash's," he is saying, "And when I looked out his back window, I saw you there, lying motionless. At first I thought he'd done something to you, but when I came out I saw what had happened when I put two and two together."  
  
I thought he'd done something to you. These casual words send chills down my spine. What terrible thing would Ash Ketchum do to me?  
  
==================================*============================  
  
They aren't telling me anything. Any time I try to insinuate that I'd like to know more information, they always laugh. Or change the subject. Or act bewildered.  
  
My chest feels tight with fury every time they try to avoid my eyes and my questions. The mystery still lingers in front of me, taunting me like a mouse and a cat. Every time the answer seems to be closer, I end up more confused then I already am.  
  
Finally, the answer of where to start comes to me. I am lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Every day, Brock goes to Ash's house at a certain time. He just left a few minutes ago.  
  
I leapt out of bed and began to dash down the street until his strong, tall figure comes into shape.  
  
Then I follow it to the place where I was sure all the answers would lie.  
  
  
  
I promise it will get better in the next chapter when she gets to Ash's! Please review if you want more! I won't write more unless I get like, um, ten more. Yeah, ten is a nice number. *I love reviews, la la la la la, I've had too much sugar, la la la la la*  
  
x~Aurora chan 


	4. Trapped

First of, thank you SOOO MUCH!!! to everyone who has reviewed!!!!! ^_____^ I love reviews, and you all know it!!!!! Secondly, I have already written chapter five, because I couldn't even wait to see what happened *smiles* so once you guys let me know when, I'll post it! Now, onto the story!!  
  
:::In case you need a refresher, Misty was just following Brock to Ash's house when chapter three ended:::  
  
  
  
He strolls up to Ash's front stoop and lets himself in while I'm left standing outside on the sidewalk. Damn it, Brock, I think, why do you have to make it so difficult for me?  
  
While I'm creeping around the house like a burglar, trying to find a place for me to eavesdrop, I try not to think about Togepi.  
  
There has to be some opening, I think, edging my way around the house. Every window I come from has the shades drawn and the window screwed tight shut. Finally, I make my way to the back of the yard. The little stone in the corner is nearly buried by the uncut grass. I glance away. Not the time to think about this. Focus.  
  
Something catches the corner of my eye. A small window, tucked away under the grass near the bottom of the house. As I approach it, I see that it is a window leading to the cellar. Unlocked.  
  
Suddenly, an insane idea pops into my head. I shouldn't do it, I can't do it, I wouldn't do it...would I?  
  
Instinctively I squat down to the level of the window and peer inside. It's dusty. Nothing but old boxes and junk.  
  
Before I know it I am squirming into the tiny window feet first and with a frighteningly loud thump I land on the cold cement.  
  
From far above I hear Brock's voice saying, "What was that?" and my heart solidifies in my throat. Ash mumbles a response and after a few seconds of paralyzing silence, I unfreeze my limbs and straighten up, heart still throbbing in my throat.  
  
I glance around the room for a spot to hide..just in case.  
  
"We have to go out today," said Brock as if he were speaking to a small child.  
  
I hear a vague response, more mumbling from Ash.  
  
"I know you don't want to go, Ash, but we need to. It'll only be a few hours, and then  
  
you can come back home."  
  
"Fine," I hear finally, and there is the scraping of chairs above me. I strain to hear anything more of interest, but they make idle, senseless conversation about the weather.  
  
Then, suddenly, I hear my name.  
  
"-apologize to Misty."  
  
Silence.  
  
"I'm not talking to her again, Brock, you know that. Now let it go!" His voice takes on a violent edge and he stomps out of the house and slams to door so hard that the panes downstairs shake.  
  
I hear Brock get up and leave after him.  
  
For a full ten minutes I sit there crouched in the basement, the silence pounding in on my ears, my legs cramping up.  
  
Should I go back outside? And..is there a way to get outside?  
  
I glance up at the window. So high. There is no way I'm able to get out of there that way.  
  
I creep up the stairs, my feet echoing on the cold concrete. I place my hand on the doorknob and pause. The cold metal, protecting me from here and the truth.  
  
Finally, I grasp it and turn, pushing the door open slowly, ever so slowly.  
  
I'm standing in the middle of the hallway, painted white. The floor is wooden, shiny. I'm surprised that this house is so well kept inside, given the outward appearance.  
  
A scurrying noise to my right, claws clicking against the floor, and then a yellow rodent appears at the end of the hallway.  
  
It glares at me for forebodingly. "Pika...." In the darkness of the hallway, its cheeks spark with electricity.  
  
"Pikachu! Stop! It's me! Misty! Don't you remember?" Whatever had happened between Ash and me obviously had no bearing on Pikachu. The second it recognizes me, it rushes towards me with a loud "Pika!"  
  
I gather the yellow rodent in my arms and hug it tightly.  
  
"Pika pi, pika pika chu!" It squeals, jumping out of my arms.  
  
"Wait, Pikachu!" I follow it down the hallway and emerge into the kitchen, which was as nice as the hallway. It keeps running past the kitchen, though, straight up the stairs and into a bedroom.  
  
Ash's room.  
  
The room is considerably sloppier than the rest of the house. In fact, it's downright a disaster. The walls have black scuff marks all over them, and there are papers all over the floor.  
  
But I can't go in, it's such an absurd thought. I can't just invade his privacy. Pikachu sits atop the bed invitingly, waiting for me to come in.  
  
I take one step, and then one leads to another, and soon I am staring at Ash's bedside table.  
  
Atop it, in its crowning glory, is a picture of me.  
  
I'm sitting next to the ocean, gazing out with a nostalgic expression on my face.  
  
Pikachu is shooting off its mouth at me, and I'm not understanding a single word of the gibberish.  
  
He does still care for me, then, I think.  
  
This new knowledge makes me take another look around the room. The second thing I notice is that there is nothing having to do with Pokemon. Nothing. I could just as well be in our guestroom at home.  
  
"Where are all his trophies?" I ask, stepping up to the dresser. "Pika pi. Pika chu." It points to the garbage can.  
  
"He threw them away?! Why?"  
  
It just shakes its head and remains silent.  
  
I turn and walk out of the room, intent on examining the rest of the house, when suddenly I hear the door rattling below me.  
  
My heart leaps to my throat, and then I'm running, bustling out of the room, trying not to slam the door on the way out.  
  
From the living room I hear footstep slamming around the living room, and a voice muttering in annoyance.  
  
Ash is home.  
  
I CAN'T WAIT TO POST CHAPTER FIVE!!!! WHEE!!!! REVIEW REVIEW, I LIKE REVIEWS A LOT!!!!!!! *coughs* I've had too much sugar. I need to stop taking sugar, you know, how sum people get high off of drugs, well guess what, children, I have found a safe alternative!!! *does crusty the clown laugh* okay, I'm done. Yessss..well onto writing chapter six now!!! *does happy lil dance away*  
  
x~Aurora chan 


	5. Emotions Torn

Whee!!! Thanks for all the reviews! I love you guys!!! Oh, and btw, listen to this. Someone named sailorchibi had the nerve to rip off my story!! They stole my plot, characters, and even my flashback from the first chapter. They took their story offline, though, after I reviewed it ^-^ Well, enjoy chapter five, the most angsty chapter of them all!  
  
:::Just as a reminder- in the last chapter, Misty had sneaked into Ash's house and just as she was going to leave, Ash came home:::  
  
  
  
Misty's POV  
  
He comes into the hallway. Then his eyes meet mine.  
  
His face remains emotionless with an expression in his eyes that I can't interpret. It's almost confused. Nearly a full minute passes as the silence presses in on us, heavy and hot on my chest. As I wonder what is going through his mind. Because my mind is simply blank at the sight of him again- tall, dark-haired, and beautiful.  
  
"Please, Ash," I whisper desperately, but he cuts me off.  
  
"What the hell are you doing there? Didn't I tell you to leave and not come back, Misty? I *never* want to see you again after what you did to me!!!!!!" He's advancing closer and closer to me, and I'm backing away in fear. His face is so twisted in rage that I think he's going to hit me.  
  
My mind protests loudly. I didn't do anything to you, it shouts, but my vocal chords are seared with fear.  
  
This is the end, I think dully. The end of us. The end of me. Ash is a stranger now.  
  
I'm flattened against the wall, shutting my eyes and bracing my head against the wall.  
  
He raises his hand quickly to deliver the first blow, then stops midair. I open an eye and see him staring at me, that childlike expression of confusion back on his face.  
  
My insides are shaking so hard that I am going to collapse again.  
  
"Ash?" I choke out softly. For a moment I see the old Ash inside. The Ash I love. He's calling, reaching out to me in vain, crying for help.  
  
Then he takes his hand and takes hold of my cheek. Without a word he presses his body against mine and kisses me suddenly and fiercely.  
  
Emotions spinning like a carnival ride, stars dancing in front of my eyes.  
  
I feel his warm, soft hands against me. They've always been soft, is the first idle thought I have. Because he was always wearing those gloves.  
  
He's sweating, and I feel it in between our bodies. The fear.  
  
Joshua. It was totally different with him. Just soft safeness, emotionless and flat. I'm dancing with danger here, I'm so scared that this is happening, and I can't believe it is.  
  
I'm clinging to him, because he is the only thing I have to hold onto so I don't fall to the ground. I feel him holding me, too, almost as if he needs me. I taste the uncertainty on both our lips as we linger together, as if it is some sort of dangerous dance.  
  
The kiss is short; fear has stolen my breath away, and we're both panting.  
  
"Misty.." he says finally, meeting my eyes. His eyes have tears in them.  
  
I can't think of a single thing to say.  
  
Suddenly, the tears are cascading down my cheeks as I sink to the floor, crying uncontrollably. As if I've lost all command of my emotions entirely, just sobbing and reeling.  
  
Eventually everything sinks into a comforting blackness and I hear Brock's voice yelling,  
  
"Misty!"  
  
  
  
Ash's POV  
  
Why does she have to come back? I'm living my life fine, I've gotten over her, and then she has to come.  
  
I force myself to think of the kiss. Misty was holding onto me. We were holding onto one another. And despite the uncertainty, it felt so right.  
  
I can't be thinking of this. Not of her.  
  
I remind myself that I hate her. That she ruined my life. And then the old hatred comes rushing back of the girl sitting on my bedside table. The picture has been flung across the room so many I times I can't even count.  
  
I roll over on the bed and open the bedside drawer to pull out the razor, stained with blood. I feel it cutting into the old scar from the first time, feel the relief as an airy sensation washes over me.  
  
Misty is forgotten now, as I focus on the patterns on my ceiling..  
  
  
  
Misty's POV again  
  
I don't know where to go, which direction to turn. So much points to so little. I don't know how detectives can do it.  
  
I want to know why he hates me.  
  
I want to know why he's thrown away all his trophies.  
  
I want to know why my Togepi is dead.  
  
I want to know why he kissed me.  
  
I can't think about the kiss. Every time I find myself thinking about him, I scream very loudly in my mind, but eventually it all goes silent..  
  
So I force it away.  
  
I just need the answers now, and the mouths of everyone remains sealed shut.  
  
I touch my own mouth. The one that he-  
  
No. I need to search. I need clues. I need answers. My feet are walking to my car. Car is driving towards the Pokemon Tower in Lavender City. Feet getting out of the car, walking inside the silent building. Eyes are closed in silent remembrance of my Pokemon, Togepi. Tears leak out of my eyes slowly, excruciatingly.  
  
"Excuse me, miss. May we take down the name of your deceased Pokemon so we can include it in a memorial service we are holding this afternoon? If you don't mind, that is."  
  
"Togepi. My friends and I found the egg when we were kids on our Pokemon journey. We hatched it all ourselves...but I left it with my friend Ash while I went on an exchange trip..and he let it die.."  
  
I imagine how pathetic I must look, sobbing out the story to this woman in the official looking suit. But I guess they were meant for this kind of thing in their jobs.  
  
"Miss? What was this Ash's last name?"  
  
"Ke-ke-ketchum."  
  
A soft intake of breath follows my words, and the woman says, "Are you Misty Waterflower?"  
  
"How do you know my name?"  
  
"I was wondering if you would ever come back, Misty. Come with me."  
  
And I stare after her, totally perplexed, as she walks away.  
  
  
  
  
  
I no I'm evil ^_^ Um, nothing much to say, except that I will commence to write chapter six as soon as possible! The more reviews I get, the quicker I will write it!  
  
x~Aurora chan 


	6. Reveal

Thanks for all the reviews everyone! You guys are so awesome!!!! Well, I've been taking my floppy disk to school *huggles floppy disk* and writing during technology class. What a stupid class..but at least I get to write! And here comes chapter six, la la la!  
  
:::In the last chapter, misty went to the Pokémon tower to mourn her Togepi. When she arrived, a woman appeared and seemed to know her. Then, she motioned Misty to follow her, where she would explain everything:::  
  
  
  
"I'm sure you don't remember me," the woman is saying to me. She's led me into a small, official-looking room.  
  
"Have we..have we met?" I hear myself saying. I feel totally numb underneath, and after all I had experienced in the past few days, I tell myself I have the right.  
  
"Yes, we have..a long time ago."  
  
I'm waiting for her to explain, and I tilt my head in confusion.  
  
"You came to my house once seeking shelter from the rain. I was a ditto trainer, remember? We were about..." She stopped and appeared to be thinking, "about ten or eleven?"  
  
My face suddenly drains of color as the threads of remembrance trail back. "Du...Duplica??"  
  
She nods. "It's been awhile, Misty."  
  
We had never known one another very well, in fact, I was always secretly jealous of her because Ash seemed to like her more than me.  
  
The next thing she tells me doesn't surprise me one bit, though it should. It's as if I've been squeezed dry of all my emotions, and I don't have the strength to muster up more.  
  
"I was Ash's girlfriend," she says, "We broke up about a year ago, but.." she trailed off.  
  
"I'm sorry," I say, somehow feeling like it was my fault.  
  
"It's all right," she says, sad acceptance lingering in her eyes.  
  
"I've been looking for you for such a long time. I got a job here, and I knew you would come here eventually, to see your Togepi's name on our wall."  
  
"Wall?"  
  
"It's a wall dedicated to Pokémon. Brock had paid for your Togepi to appear there..but I guess he hasn't told you."  
  
I shake my head wordlessly. "What's going on?" I whisper, and that one sentence seems to cut off all the small talk.  
  
I see a wave of emotion pass over her face as she debates telling me or not.  
  
Finally, her face relents, and she says, "You might want to sit down, Misty."  
  
I obey, already feeling my insides start to shake.  
  
"After you left, Ash was fine for awhile. He was always writing you letters, but you never answered them. You never called, either. So after that he sunk into depression. I don't really blame him," -with this she glances accusingly at me-, "He just thought you didn't like him any more. His heart was broken, Misty."  
  
"He never wrote me letters!" I exclaim. "I never got anything from him!" She just shrugs. "So, anyways, the Pokémon league was fast approaching. Brock forced him to enter, even though he really didn't care. He never did say what was the matter, but everyone figured it out."  
  
My heart is shattering on the inside for the second time as I think of the pain we both had endured. On opposite ends of the world, and we both had suffered pointlessly.  
  
"And then what?" I ask, sure that there is more to the story than that.  
  
"Well, he had become so depressed that he didn't even take care of his Pokémon any more. Brock had to do it. It was about this time I came along, during the Pokémon league, and I re-met them. And that's when I found out what was going on."  
  
"Yes.. But what happened to Togepi?"  
  
"It was the morning of his big battle. Ash walked onto the field, holding his Pokeballs.  
  
"When the battle began, he tossed one out and yelled, 'Go, Togepi!' And to my surprise, out came your Togepi. It was just a baby, Misty but he forced it to battle. I'm so sorry."  
  
"What was it against?"  
  
"An Onyx."  
  
Anger rises in my throat, the old anger I felt when Ash didn't write, the old insolence at him. "I hate him," I say, "Damn him." I then proceed to ferociously whisper a string of obscenities.  
  
"He just wanted to lose. He just wanted to get out of there."  
  
"That's so selfish! He could have at least tried! He could have used his own Pokémon!"  
  
"How did you let him?" I demand, turning the blame loose on her. "How could you let him use Togepi?!"  
  
"I never knew," she says simply, her shoulders hunched over in visible guilt. "I would have done everything in my power to stop him if I could."  
  
Emotions combining, clashing, to make the most sickening feeling I've ever felt. My stomach feels hollow. I can't even cry.  
  
"Excuse me, Duplica. Thank you for telling me, but I have to go now. Goodbye." Then I somehow manage to find my way out of the room and to the car, where I drive recklessly home.  
  
Duplica's POV, later the next day. (a/n just a quick break from the angsty stuff, don't fear, it'll be back ^_^)  
  
The phone suddenly jars next to me, and I snatch it up. Even since I talked to Misty yesterday, I've been worried..  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Duplica?" Asks a voice.  
  
"Yes..?" I say tentatively.  
  
"This is Brock."  
  
"Hi! What's up?" I ask brightly, as I quickly bury my glum mood deep inside me. My heart starts to flutter a bit. Ever since I broke up with Ash, I've had a small crush on Brock.  
  
"I won four tickets for a glass bottom boat tour," he says, "they stop for awhile at an island and to snorkel. I was wondering if you'd like to come with me."  
  
This can't be happening. He's not really asking me out on a date..is he?  
  
Something suddenly occurs to me. "Who else is coming along?" I ask.  
  
A pause.  
  
"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to invite Ash along with us. He's been more depressed then usual, and I think it's because of Misty. But I want to get him out of the house, whether he likes it or not."  
  
"I don't mind," I say in a near whisper. In truth, Ash had really been scaring me right before we broke up. And obviously, he hasn't gotten any better.  
  
Then, a brilliant idea hits me face on. A Duplica Imite idea.  
  
"We should bring Misty with, too!" I exclaim. "Maybe we can force them to, you know, repent."  
  
"That might not be such a good idea.." he said.  
  
"Sure it will! All they need is a little TLC towards one another!"  
  
"Well..okay," he says reluctantly.  
  
"I'll call Misty," I say, excitedly, unaware of the huge catastrophe I'm about to cause.  
  
  
  
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Seven will be up ASAP! Wow, it's 1:30 AM and I am about to pass out. Wheeee...  
  
x~Aurora chan 


	7. Shaky Breaths

Hi! Finally I got over my writer's block! WHEE! Well, just as a warning, this chapter is a little graphic and gory near the end..so if you don't like that stuff, just beware! Enjoy this chapter!  
  
Duplica's talking, but I have no idea what she's saying. Something hovers in the back of my mind, this feeling of an impending event..and a bad one at that.  
  
"They said you'll get to see Tentacruels," she said to me as she scans the crowd gathered around the boat.  
  
I nod distractedly, as a tall, lanky figure suddenly catches my eyes. *Him.*  
  
"What's *he* doing here?" I demand at Duplica, but she ignores me.  
  
"Brock! We're over here!" She yells across the dock, and the two of them come over towards us.  
  
Suddenly I know what's happened. We've been set up.  
  
My heart suddenly is filled with an unmistakable rage at them. They, who don't understand us, feel like they have the right to solve our problem.  
  
When he sees me, his head snaps up and I feel the heat of his glare on my face.  
  
Before either of us knows what is happening, we're being ushered into a boat and Duplica and Brock are taking another one.  
  
Those damn idiots, I think.  
  
Ash looks so openly hostile towards them that I think he's going to lash out at something..or someone.  
  
It is not even like we have a choice. A lady forces us onto the boat before we know what we're doing, and I'm stuck sitting on a bench next to him, watching Brock and Duplica wave goodbye to us.  
  
My head is spinning, and I'm considering telling the woman that I have seasickness. But then I spot the small bottle of pills to cure it, and I decide to keep my mouth shut. As the boat speeds away, the bottom of the ocean reveals hordes of water Pokemon, but I can't pay attention.  
  
Our bare legs are touching slightly, and I pull mine away quickly. I focus on not having to touch him. Every touch, that feeling comes back again. Every touch, and everything I once knew cascades away in a rush of whirling emotions, like a carnival ride. I hate him, I think. But every time I see his innocent brown eyes, his strong stature...I forget about Togepi. The water Pokemon are forgotten.  
  
I feel sweat beading on my forehead. Once again, the rage comes back at him.  
  
"I don't have warts or leprosy," he says in a tone of slight amusement.  
  
I just ignore him.  
  
"Come on," he adds after a few seconds, "I know you heard me." His voice is quavering slightly.  
  
I'm not listening...  
  
The tour guide is babbling incessantly, but to me, the only two people on the boat are me and Ash. The silence pounds in on me and I feel as one feels in a dream when they are sick. Trapped, helpless, and uncomfortable.  
  
The boat's turning, and we dock at a nearby island.  
  
"This island is small and inhibited, but it does have some wildlife on it. After we all snorkel, we will take a tour of the island," states the tour guide in a bright, chipper voice. "Please follow me. Those who do not choose to snorkel at this time may explore the island. However, the east side with the rocky cliffs is strictly forbidden. People have lost their lives there."  
  
With those words, her eyes seem to penetrate through to me, and I shudder a little bit. Something about the woman's tone unsettles me.  
  
I turn and grab my snorkeling things, and just then I see Ash heading out the door to the island.  
  
Good, I think. He won't be bugging me, then. But then something makes me stop. I set down my snorkeling things and turn back towards the island. He's walking recklessly, painfully, almost. And then, for some reason unknown to myself even, I'm turning and following him.  
  
~*~  
  
"What are you doing here?" He demands, whirling around. We are, of course, the only two people on the island. Who else would pass up the chance to see water Pokemon in their natural habitats?  
  
"I didn't feel like swimming today," I said, tossing my head.  
  
"That's a load of BS, and you know it, Misty. Why did you really come?" He knows me too well. I wish he didn't.  
  
"You think you know me, Ash. But it happens to be that I no longer like water Pokemon, so there!" A bald-faced lie, and we both know it.  
  
I see his mouth turning up a bit on one side. "So they didn't treat you well in America, huh? I guess that's just too bad." Then he turns and walks away.  
  
I'm standing there, wondering what on earth I should do. If I follow him, he might do something drastic. I don't know this new Ash Ketchum, this cynical, depressed person. I don't know what he might do.  
  
Yes, I'll admit it. I am afraid of him.  
  
So I head off to the north end of the island.  
  
Waves lap gently at my feet, as if they are teasing me. These are the baby waves, the branches of their great mother. The water is about eighty degrees, and I wade along, picking up shells, just inhaling the ocean air.  
  
No matter how upset I am, being around the water always makes me feel better.  
  
I turn and climb up the rocky hill to find myself staring at a mass of jagged rocks below. The waves are crashing violently against the rocks, as if they can't wait to swallow up another victim.  
  
I'm standing there for the longest time, just watching the water. Every time the waves recede and advance a different pattern swirls in the water, dancing in the sunlight. Taking in a deep breath, I turn to head back to the boat when I hear a noise next to me. I stop and turn around abruptly.  
  
It's Ash.  
  
He's standing at the edge of the cliff, an expression of almost profound morbidity on his face. And in a split second, I know what he is going to do.  
  
The woman's words echo in my brain. People have lost their lives here..  
  
Move, feet, move! My feet don't seem to respond to my brain, which has gone numb. I realize dully that they're moving, but not nearly fast enough. And then everything seems to be happening in slow motion. I'm lurching foreword only a split second later, but it's too late already.  
  
He glances back at me once before taking one more step into open air. For an instant his eyes seem to bore some sort of laughing, cynical triumph into mine. Then he is gone.  
  
All the air seems to be sucked out of my lungs. I lunge blindly up to the cliff's edge, and see him below, floating in the water. Swirling around him are tendrils of red.  
  
My mind tells me he is probably dead. His brain's probably been dashed to bits when he hit the rocks below.  
  
But my heart is still pounding, crying out in denial. I rush down the hill and towards the water. Without hesitation, I wade into the water. Almost immediately, it's above my head, and I'm clawing frantically at the slippery rocks and struggling to pull myself towards where his body is floating lifelessly.  
  
The current is so strong. I feel it pulling at me, pulling away bit by bit, and I thank my lucky stars that I know how to swim.  
  
Grasping another rock firmly, I hoist myself up towards him. For a moment my heart catches in my throat as I see the water, stained in crimson.  
  
Then I push ahead, and sink myself into the water, pulling his head up to me, and swim back to the island. Suddenly déjà vu strikes me, head on. This has happened before, I think. Oh yes, the Orange Islands.  
  
I remember my fear, that cold fear as I saw him floating there in the ocean. I remember my lack of hesitation. I'd loved him then, too.  
  
It's harder to navigate through the ocean with one hand, but eventually, I make it onto the sand and lay him down.  
  
"Ash! Ash! Answer me! Ash!" I'm screaming hysterically and shaking him. When remove my hands, I see them stained with blood. His legs are so twisted and mangled that I'm not sure if I'll ever see him walk again.  
  
"Oh, God," I whisper, collapsing down on the sand, "What am I gonna do? I'm no nurse, but please, please help me to save him.."  
  
I lean down and put my ear over his mouth. No breathing.  
  
I remember when I was seven they taught us CPR at the Cerulean Gym, "just in case." I am bending over and placing my lips over his. They're so cold...not like when he kissed me. No, then they were warm, and nearly loving.  
  
Tears spill onto my already soaking cheeks, dripping onto my lips. I'm so hysterical that I can barely gulp in enough air for myself, let alone for both of us.  
  
Be calm. Concentrate. Focus.  
  
I take a deep breath and try again.  
  
The first time, nothing. I try and try again, and I hear nothing. Please, I plead mentally. Please don't die on me. Then he's coughing and spluttering, and I'm still gasping for air.  
  
"Ash...?" I'm leaning foreword on my haunches, my heart pounding wildly. "Ash?"  
  
Then I see the most blessed sight I've ever laid eyes on. His beautiful, deep brown eyes opened slowly, looking confused at first, and then resting on me.  
  
Suddenly I see a light of remembrance dawn in his eyes, and they narrow with anger and pain.  
  
"Misty, you- "he whispers hoarsely, and coughs. I'm horrified to see that blood is dribbling out his mouth.  
  
"Don't talk! Just don't talk! Let me help you and hang on!" I'm more scared then I've ever been in my entire life, and I can barely even recognize my own shrill voice. Not just because I'm dealing with this human being who is in terrible shape, whose fate relies on my meager little skills. But this is Ash.  
  
"Damn it, Ash. Why did you have to go and do this?" I mutter between my teeth, voice shaking. I see that the blood is soaking through his yellow t- shirt, and I strip it off. I need to stop the bleeding, and fast. He doesn't protest- much. But it's not as if he can, anyways. He can barely move, let alone force me away.  
  
His chest is full of open wounds and shiny with blood. I take a deep breath. All that blood..soaking his clothes, soaking my clothes, and staining the sand. It's almost impossible to believe that someone can bleed that much and still live.  
  
I rip off the bottoms of my pants and press them onto his chest to try to stop the bleeding. The shirt won't work because it is already soaked with blood. Underneath my hand, his cracked ribs heave in and out for air. In..out...in...out.. I concentrate on his shaky breaths...those shaky breaths that are keeping him alive.  
  
"Turn over," I command, and he obeys. His back is much less bloody- he must have landed on his stomach. But as I work to stop the bleeding on his back, I notice something. Across his back are three large claw marks- scars from a long time ago. I press the leg of my pant onto one of the wounds and examine them closely.  
  
I know this isn't the time to be making idle chitchat, but the question just bursts out of my mouth. "What happened to your back?"  
  
I feel the muscles in his back tensing up, and he doesn't answer. In a second I realize that it would be stupid to expect him to. Stupid Misty, I think. He can barely even breathe.  
  
"Don't answer!" I shriek, "You can tell me later! Never mind! Just hang on, Ash, hang on.."  
  
Then, above the sound of my throbbing heart and the crashing of the waves, I hear voices.  
  
Umm..nothing much to say, here! I was on a writing frenzy and I wrote for hours on end! Just make me happy and review ^_^  
  
x~Aurora chan 


	8. Promise?

This is probably the longest chapter, but it's also the best! (in *my* humble opinion, lol) Well, this is the concluding chap of Wounded in My Eyes,  
  
Last time: Ash and Misty were on a snorkeling cruise, but they chose to venture on a nearby island. Ash attempted to commit suicide by jumping off the cliff into the ocean. Misty swam over and saved him. Now, the doctors are on their way.  
  
Red. The blood is red and soaking my face, and when I raise my head the people gasp. They are a hoard of nameless, faceless people, all weaving before me.  
  
"It was an accident," I spit out finally, my voice sounding strangely unreal, "No. It wasn't. He jumped."  
  
Then words are swirling over my head; words that makes it hurt more..ambulance, life support, and a whole bunch of "omigods," clumped together. All their words, blending into my skull. I can't keep my head up, and I lower it to the sand and give myself up to the blackness.  
  
"Misty! Misty!"  
  
A familiar voice from above. If only I could raise my head.  
  
"She's fainted! Misty! Misty!"  
  
I haven't fainted. I need to raise my head. I need to tell them I'm still here.  
  
"Someone call 9-1-1! Quick, he's losing blood fast!"  
  
The sand is red below me. My head is touching his ear, my lips his lean, thin cheekbone.  
  
"Ash."  
  
My voice sounds hoarse and low in my throat, but I can still hear it. And so can he.  
  
"Yes..?" he whispers, and I feel his body convulse with coughs. I feel him, I hear him, but the rest of the world has somehow fades away.  
  
"Why did you do it?"  
  
"I need...I need an end...from the guilt.." A tremor runs through his body, and I'm not sure how much longer his life will hold out.  
  
"What guilt?"  
  
"What I did to you...Charizard..Togepi..."  
  
"Charizard..?" I want to ask more, but I realize this isn't the time for this. " Just don't leave me, Ash. Please." My pleading lips are brushing against his cheek every time I speak. I squeeze his hand and feel the blood trickling between our interlocked fingers.  
  
"I need you," I add despairingly, the hot tears burning my face. I taste them in my mouth. There are other things. Fear. I taste fear.  
  
"Promise.." I rest my hand on his arm. His warm, strong arm which I might never touch again. "Promise you won't leave me, Ash Ketchum. It was wrong of me to go. It was wrong of me not to stay by you. I forgive you."  
  
He's coughing now, the wretched sound cutting through the voices around us, which have appeared again in the background. "Promise...." he gasps between coughs.  
  
And than they are tearing our hands apart and lifting him up onto the ambulance stretcher. I'm running desperately after him, but hands are holding me away, hard hands, uncaring hands.  
  
"You'd better come, too, Miss," one of the attendants says, coaxing me onto the stretcher. I'm not going, I say, but the words don't come out.  
  
They push me onto the stiff thing, and it feels like I'm swinging back and forth on a pendulum.  
  
Before I know it, they strap me into the helicopter and they set my stretcher down next to Ash's. I stare at the patterns on the ceiling of the helicopter as I feel them taking my checking all my vital signs. The sound in the machine is nearly deafening, and I wonder how the nurses can tell what they're doing.  
  
They're checking for wounds now. I have a huge bruise on my arm and my legs are all cut up, but I don't even notice the pain. It's as if my legs are detatcheddetached from my body and I'm just floating.  
  
The humming seems so surreal. I wonder when I can break the bubble and face reality.  
  
~*~  
  
My world has just been turned upside down, while everyone else continues with life as if nothing is happening.  
  
Their calm, matter-of-fact tone makes me want to grasp them by the shoulders and shake them.  
  
"Ash," I say dimly, "Where is he?" I am in the slate gray room with a single doctor bustling around.  
  
"He's being taken care of," she says curtly, turning away from me.  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Don't worry yourself. He's fine." But her carefully averted eyes tellseyes tell me she's lying.  
  
Rage rushes into my throat, and before I know it, my mouth is opening and I'm screaming, demanding to know where they put him.  
  
The doctor regards me with cool eyes. The intensity of my demands has not seemed to reach her.  
  
"I know you've gone through a shock," she's saying. As she speaks, I catch a glance of myself in the mirror that hangs behind her. My blood-soaked shirt is hanging raggedly on my shoulders, and my long red hair is matted to my face. Instead of the tears that should be present in my eyes, there is only a wild, wounded expression.  
  
"Let me go see him," I say softly, my wretched whisper cutting through the silence of the room. Like rocks cutting into skin.  
  
"Please. I beg of you."  
  
"One minute" she turns and walks out of the room, leaving my standing there, shaking.  
  
~*~*  
  
"He's in intensive care."  
  
Intensive care. Another menial term that echoes again and again in my brain.  
  
"Don't stay in for more than ten minutes," she's saying. "When you're done, come right out"  
  
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. It's as if I'm about to plunge into an icy sea, one I might drown in.  
  
When I step into the room, his eyes are closed. The handsome is face is etched with pain, so I know he's not asleep. It is only than that I notice the machines. Every part of his body seems to be hooked up to something.  
  
"Ash.." I stumble over to the bed, collapsing onto the floor.  
  
"Please don't leave me. Please don't die. Please don't die. Please.."  
  
I clutch onto his hand and bury my face into the sheets next to it.  
  
Suddenly I feel a faint stirring, and when I glance up I see him staring at me.  
  
And in his eyes I see the old Ash Ketchum.  
  
A pang shoots through my chest as I try to smile. Smile for him at least. "Mi...Mist.." his voice is ragged and shrouded in pain, and I put my finger to his lips. I can't stand seeing him in this much pain.  
  
"Don't talk, don't try to! If it hurts you so much, don't!"  
  
He shakes his head with the same old stubborn determination he has always had. It breaks my heart.  
  
"Misty...I don't...I don't think I will..be able to keep...promise..."  
  
"No!" I scream, pounding the floor. "I thought they said you were fine! I thought they told me they were taking care of you!"  
  
He remains silent, his eyes staring at me. His eyes which are trapped in a dying body.  
  
For a moment we sit in silence, overwhelmed.  
  
"I never thought it would come to this," I say finally, tears choking my voice. "I just wish we were little again."  
  
So many things I want to say to him. I want to talk to him, to live with him, forever, but the inevitable ending looms before us both.  
  
"Was it...was it true what you said?"  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Do you love me?"  
  
I look at him then, lying in the hospital bed, so broken and torn. My eyes fill with unshed tears. The words won't come, so I simply nod.  
  
A smile pushes its way onto his pain-stricken face, and for a moment, everything is perfect. For a moment, we're little again, and our only troubles are reaching the next city.  
  
But the moment ends abruptly with his face twisting in pain. "Ash?" I cry, thinking, this is it. This is the end, and I'm not ready. But then again, I think ruefully, I never will be.  
  
A nurse comes rushing in, tossing up complex words in her path.  
  
"The final stage of the internal bleeding has begun," she informs me, "We were able to stop it for awhile so he could say his good-byes. The end is near, miss." Her words seem to slap me in the face, but I find myself nodding again. These words seem to have no meaning. Good-byes. The End.  
  
It's all rushing by too quickly. Ash, Ash suffering, Ash dying, and all that's left behind are my tears. The End.  
  
I'm watching like I'm from behind a glass wall. Everything is numb inside me, and I think a part of me is dying, too.  
  
I can see him struggling to raise his hand to my face, to touch me one last time. Finally, the pain overtakes him and his hand drops to the blankets, clutching on as his breathing becomes more and more ragged. I take his hand in mine and hold it to my cheek.  
  
His hand is rigid with pain, but gradually it lessens up, slowly, so slowly and at first I think he's getting better. Then I notice something else. It is as if I can almost see the life leaving him, swirling in tendrils towards the ceiling, like when we were kids..  
  
******Hey, Ash. Do you know what it means when you see Ledyba (ican'tspell*cough*) go into flight in the night time? He gave me the same clueless look, as always, so I simply continued. "It means you can make a wish, Ash, and that it will come true in ten years. What do you wish for?" They were swirling all around like a kaleidoscope in flight. "I made my wish," I added, but I refused to tell him what it was. "Tell me! Or else.." "Or else what, Ash Ketchum?" I ask flirtatiously. "Or else I"ll tickle you!" I shriek and scramble over the rock. "Stay awayyy!!!" ******  
  
The memory fades away and I'm staring at his pain-stricken face again. He gets lighter and lighter, and his face fades away. And with that is seems that Ash's soul sighed with relief. It was all over.  
  
"No," I say, wanting to grab that last bit of spirit floating in the air, and somehow keep it forever. But the last of it just drifts away.  
  
"I think he's gone," says the nurse quietly, resting her hand on my shoulder.  
  
I shake it off angrily and turn to her, eyes blazing. "Do you think I don't know that already? You don't need to tell me what you think!"  
  
"Miss, I know this is a hard time for you, but please, be reasonable."  
  
"What the hell would you know about all of this? All you do is sit here and let your patients die! How would you know how this is for me?"  
  
"That's not true," she protests, "we did everything we could. He was bleeding too much from the inside." Her calm voice made something inside me snap.  
  
"I don't need any of this bullshit," I spit out angrily, "I'm out of here."  
  
And then I am.  
  
~*~  
  
I'm still behind the glass. In front of me lies an empty, vast black hole.  
  
The only sensation I feel is a dim, throbbing pain somewhere deep inside.  
  
It doesn't seem possible that the real world is still continuing. Calm orderlies walk down the hallway, their hair tucked neatly behind their ears. They had probably gotten up this morning and made their children lunch. When they got home, they would forget about the hospital and sit them on their lap and talk about what they learned at school.  
  
I wonder what our children would have looked like, I think dimly. Mine and Ash's. I bet they would have been beautiful.  
  
The thought pierces me so suddenly in the heart that I reach up to see if there is a hole in my chest.  
  
I realize that somehow my legs brought me here to stand in front of a glass wall. Inside are rows upon rows of tiny cradles and each holds a person, so tiny and beautiful.  
  
Each of them is pure innocence, the light of tomorrow. I suddenly feel so incredibly old, as if life has already worn me down.  
  
The one closest to the glass stirs a little. His eyes are open slightly and I'm surprised by their huge innocence.  
  
His hair is spiky and black, and his eyes are bright blue.  
  
I just gaze at him for the longest time. Suddenly it strikes me-he reminds me of Ash.  
  
All around me, parents admire their new babies.  
  
The realization hits me slowly. My future, the future I've dreamed about, is standing right in front of me. Yet it is the future I will never have.  
  
The tears rush in, spilling over and nearly blinding me. I turn away from the babies, weeping. Finally I can cry. The pain inside before had been nearly unbearable. As I turn to walk away, I almost run into someone. Quickly I step around him, mumbling an "excuse me."  
  
"Misty?" A man's voice said, filled with concern.  
  
I lift my head slowly and see Brock staring at me.  
  
"Brock. He's gone. He's gone, Brock. Ash is gone."  
  
His face remains emotionless, but he takes me in his arms and hugs me tightly.  
  
"I know."  
  
~*~  
  
Well, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, but that's what the epilogue is for, right? ^__^ Review pleeeeeeease!!!!! 


	9. Broken Promise Epilouge

The two of us locked inside the little room for The Vigil.  
  
The Day Of The Funeral. This still doesn't quite seem real. I feel like I'm surrounded in a cloud of reality, but every time I try to reach out and grab some, it drifts away. I'm staring at my lap. My black-clad legs sit perfectly still, as if they're dead, disattached from my body.  
  
"Misty," I hear Brock's voice, calling my name as if he was far away.  
  
"Yes?" I raise my head and glance dimly around me, as if I was waking up from a long nap. Funeral homes are terribly bland, I think inanely. Everything grey, everything quiet.  
  
"Duplica's here," he says, and she's standing awkwardly before me.  
  
"Hello, Misty." The pools of her blue eyes look at my quietly, and I stare at her for a long time without emotion in my face.  
  
She hesitates, moving towards me, then finally deciding to sit down in one of the hard-backed funeral chairs.  
  
For a long time we sit in the silence, the long, stretching silence of the suffocating room. I concentrate on mustering up some sort of emotion. Anything. But the tears were still hidden in my soul.  
  
I sneak glances at each of the faces in the room. Brock's, void of emotion, was a perfect replica of my own. Then my gaze travels over to Duplica's face.  
  
It is so different. The eyes are downcast and full of expression, unlike mine or Brock's.  
  
We only have the dead, staring pupils. But her eyes are burning, staring at the floor with such a ferocity that I wonder if the people down below feel it. The heat suddenly travels up to me; I glance over again and see she is watching me.  
  
Her sudden outburst startles me, cutting through the thick silence in the room.  
  
"Misty! I did it! Okay, it was my fault! I didn't think that I'd be able to live with myself if I never told you!"  
  
For a moment her shrill words ring out and they seem to echo in the silence.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Brock whispers tightly.  
  
"Told me what?" My blood has suddenly run cold, and even though no one has said a word about Ash, something inside me tells me that he's involved.  
  
For a moment she says nothing, and then the words start tumbling out, one by one, eager to push past one another and enter into the depths of my mind.  
  
"I thought he would have told you. I thought you would have known. Misty, if I thought it would come to this, I would have never done it. I was stupid, so stupid. You'd both be better off if I'd never been born. But it happened, and it's time you know. This is all...my...fault.."  
  
~*~  
  
He never got my letters. I never got his. All by the greed of a jealous twelve year old at the pinnacle of her own existence. She took them, she said. Took them and read them. Her little young eyes reading over my thoughts, my love, my travels. All because she thought she loved him more.  
  
A fury begins to burn somewhere deep inside. Suddenly every part of her little plan makes sense, laid out before me.  
  
"Misty?" She still hasn't gotten a response from me, and my eyes are staring, wide, into hers.  
  
"Manipulative bitch."  
  
For a moment, silence.  
  
"You hate me, don't you?" She's asking, tears choking her voice. It sounds as if she's holding something back, whether it be a storm of tears or anger, I don't know. "I never knew it would come to this, Misty. When I saw how it was affecting him, I felt so guilty. I tried to help, but I guess I can't do anything right. I'm..I'm sorry Misty." Her mixture of guilt and anger seems to float around me, but not to penetrate me.  
  
I sit here, feeling like a monster, disattached from all things soft and beautiful.  
  
"It's too late for that, isn't it, Duplica? You should have thought of that ages ago! But now Ash is dead, DEAD, and it's all your fault!" I don't know there are tears on my face until I feel the cold, salty sensation in my mouth.  
  
The unadulterated hatred I feel for her right now is nearly too much to bear, and it scares me. Here is this girl, whom I'd thought was myt friend, and she'd betrayed me.  
  
I stood up and exited the room without a word, feeling their gazes on my back.  
  
~*~ It was probably the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. I saw his silent, waxen face, so beautiful and silent, lying silently. He almost looks like he's asleep, but when I touch his cheek with my shuddering hand, it's cold.  
  
I love him so much it makes me cry.  
Maybe one day, the frenzied war in my head will calm. Maybe one day I'll forgive Duplica.  
Maybe one day I'll stop missing him.  
Until then I don't know if I can bear it.  
~*~  
  
Another ficcie finished *smiles happily* I'd like to thank you guys for all the reviews! I love reviews! They're one of my favorite things besides donuts and sleep, and I REALLY love donuts and sleep!!! ^_^ This story turned out more depressing then I thought it would, but that's okay, because I love angst anyways! And btw I'm writing a new story now about Jessie and James (felt like changing the pace a little bit!)  
  
x~Aurora chan 


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